October 2020

19Oct

Japanese pension funds may hold key to Chinese JGB puzzle

China has ramped up purchases of low-yielding Japanese government bonds China stormed back into Japanese government bonds over the summer with ¥2.2tn ($21bn) in purchases between June and August — the biggest three-month spree since Japan’s Ministry of Finance began compiling data in 2005. The country has made several similar incursions to the JGB market since 2016 — the previous record high for purchases — snapping up Japan’s notoriously low-yielding debt on a grand scale and causing head-scratching over what...

October 19, 2020
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15Oct

Workforce Aging, Pension Reforms, and Firm Outcomes

By Francesca Carta, Francesco D’Amuri, Till Von Wachter Raising statutory retirement ages has been a popular policy to increase the labor supply of older workers in the face of population aging. In this paper, we quantify the effect of a sharp and unexpected increase in retirement ages on firms’ input mix and economic outcomes using Italian administrative and survey data on employment, wages, value added and capital. Exploiting information on lifetime pension contributions for the universe of employees, we...

October 15, 2020
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15Oct

Swiss pension schemes face arms financing ban campaign for referendum

The ban should apply to manufacturers of all kinds of war materials worldwide, including tanks, air defense systems, pistols and other components Swiss Pensionskassen will have to face a popular vote on 29 November on curbing the financing of companies producing arms used in global conflicts. The referendum is the result of an initiative by Young Greens, the younger faction of the Swiss Green Party, and the group Switzerland without arms (GSoA). The initiative wants to prevent the Swiss National...

October 15, 2020
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15Oct

US. Real estate investments cost NYC pension funds $370M

In a big investment portfolio, some part of it will inevitably underperform. For the city’s biggest pension fund, that part has been private equity real estate. The New York City Employees’ Retirement System ramped up its exposure to that category, only to see it underperform the stock market by $260 million and rack up at least $110 million in fees between 2016 and 2019, New York Focus reported. During those years, the fund increased its portfolio in private equity...

October 15, 2020
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09Oct

Japan. An Unconventional Pension Fund Bets on Volatility’s Return

A small Japanese pension fund known for its aggressive bets on alternative investments is changing tack. The West Japan Machinery Pension Fund has an unconventional strategy with 90% of assets invested in the likes of loans and private equity. While still committed to alternatives and disavowing sovereign bonds, it has been pivoting away from low-liquidity assets such as PE and infrastructure debt, said chief investment officer Yoshisuke Kiguchi. “Instead, we have recently increased convertible bond arbitrage quite a lot...

October 9, 2020
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08Oct

EU seeks to boost eurozone with green bond program

The European Union wants to lift the GDP of the eurozone economy by 3% by 2027 through borrowing under a new green and social bond program agreed to in September, attendees heard Tuesday during a webinar. Read also Latin America’s new poor The recovery program, which will launch with a €100 billion ($117.2 billion) SURE bond program, is a "game changer" for investors from United States and Asia because it will help to establish a euro-denominated green and social...

October 8, 2020
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05Oct

Lengthy era of rock-bottom interest rates leaving its mark on U.S. economy

Even before the Federal Reserve said it would keep interest rates near zero for at least three more years, Dan Bienvenue knew he had a battle on his hands. As chief investment officer of the nearly $400 billion California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), which provides benefits for 2 million current and future retirees, Bienvenue must earn an annual return of at least 7 percent. That’s not easy when the safe investments that pension funds usually rely on are...

October 5, 2020
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02Oct

The Essential 2020 Guide to Unlocking the Potential of Reverse Mortgages: Modern Retirement Planning

By Michael Malyszko A must-read book by reverse mortgage expert, Michael Malyszko, The Essential Guide to Un-locking the Potential of Reverse Mortgages breaks down the fundamentals of reverse mortgages, giving homeowners the knowledge they need to leverage the full potential of this incredible financial planning tool. In recent years, reverse mortgages have become even more common as an increasing number of homeowners have discovered that reverse mortgages are a valid retire-ment strategy, offering flexibility that few other loans and...

October 2, 2020
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01Oct

US. Trump Plan Would Restrict Retirement Plans from Sustainable Investments: Viewpoint

Interest in sustainable investing is soaring, as more people become convinced that making a positive impact can be profitable as well as good for the planet and society. Unfortunately, the Labor Department doesn’t think these investments belong in your 401(k). In June, the federal regulator proposed a rule that would restrict workplace retirement plans from investments that include environmental, social and governance considerations. Popularly known as ESG or socially responsible investing, this approach considers the sustainability of a company’s...

October 1, 2020
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September 2020

29Sep

U.S. pension funds sue Allianz after $4 bln in coronavirus losses

Pension funds for truckers, teachers and subway workers have lodged lawsuits in the United States against Germany's Allianz, one of the world's top asset managers, for failing to safeguard their investments during the coronavirus market meltdown. Read also US. Trump Plan Would Restrict Retirement Plans from Sustainable Investments: Viewpoint Market panic around the virus that resulted in billions in losses earlier this year scarred many investors, but no other top-tier asset manager is facing such a large number of lawsuits...

September 29, 2020
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